Robert Hover
Singer/Songwriter Johnny Bond with Eddie and Jimmie Dean (not the sausage king) and radio programming orchestra director Carl Cotner along with CBS, arranged for staff musicians and radio engineers to travel from Chicago to Hollywood, Calif., where film star Gene Autry performed for the radio broadcasts of his popular radio program “Melody Ranch.”
In 1947, Johnny Bond had three chart records himself, in addition to his appearances on “Melody Ranch.” Bond also appeared regularly on the Hollywood Barn Dance radio program in California. Since he had a disc-cutting machine in his home and was a very talented singer, songwriter, and musician, he played a role in the creation of the Christmas standard “Here Comes Santa Claus.”
Art Satherly of Columbia records wanted Gene Autry to record a Christmas song entitled “An Old–Fashioned Tree” and they needed a “B” side for the record. Autry had been Grand Marshal of the annual Christmas parade in Hollywood in 1946 and remembered the children shouting “Here comes Santa Claus!”, so he gave that title and idea to his friend Oakley Haldeman, who headed his publishing company. Haldeman, Satherly, and several others went to a home in the Hollywood Hills on a hot August night and composed the song. Autry’s lyrics combined two important elements of the Christmas tradition: the mythology of Santa Claus and the mentioning of the nativity with the promise of “Peace on Earth.”
The next evening, Satherly and Haldeman went to Johnny Bond’s home to record a demonstration of the song. Since Autry could not read or write music, he needed to learn songs from a recording. Bond recorded the “demo” that evening and on Aug. 28, 1947, Gene Autry recorded the original version of “Here Comes Santa Claus,” which indeed, became a huge hit during both the 1947 and 1948 Christmas seasons, and as the old saying goes: The rest is history.
When Christmas comes along, we are all young at heart. The world appears like some enchanted place and a wondrous part of this enchantment is, of course, the music of the season. Christmas carols and holiday songs give expression to all that is nearest and dearest to us at this time of year.
There is the first snowfall (if you live somewhere else besides Arizona) and the eager shouts of children building their first snowman. Familiar streets and your own backyard have now become a white winter’s wonderland. There is time for sledding and singing and laughing. And those who believe—truly believe—know that old Saint Nicholas has already charted his course, and that Rudolph and the other reindeer will do more than just go along for the ride.
There is also the joy of coming home for Christmas. There is the welcome warmth of the fire, the magic of the lit tree, and the gaily wrapped gifts beneath it. At home, with family and friends, there is time to enjoy once again the music of Christmas—the songs that express so beautifully the true meaning of the season.